Sandusky heads to court hearing on defense claims

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is expected to appear in a Pennsylvania courtroom Thursday for a hearing about whether his lawyers had enough time to prepare for trial.

MARK SCOLFORO

HARRISBURG (AP) — Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is expected to appear in a Pennsylvania courtroom Thursday for a hearing about whether his lawyers had enough time to prepare for trial.

The proceeding in Bellefonte (bell-FONT) is expected to last less than two hours. The topic is a set of legal challenges filed by his lawyers over how he was tried and convicted, including their claim that a deluge of prosecution materials swamped the defense.

Judge John Cleland issued an order last week for county deputies to bring Sandusky to the hearing. He's serving a prison sentence after being convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse.

The 68-year-old Sandusky spent decades as an assistant to the late head coach Joe Paterno. He maintains his innocence and is pursuing appeals.